


The Art of Dueling

by sunset_oasis



Series: every you, every me [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Slytherin Power Play, canon AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-01
Updated: 2017-05-01
Packaged: 2018-10-26 05:34:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10780623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunset_oasis/pseuds/sunset_oasis
Summary: Slytherin House held an Annual Dual every year.  Sometimes, though, there's more to winning a duel than just pure skills, and even after you won, the victory wasn't always what it first seemed to be.[alternatively: a Ravenclaw fanfic writer's attempt at writing Slytherin power plays]





	The Art of Dueling

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

 

The Annual Slytherin Dual was one of the major events of Slytherin house. Every year, there would be 3 sections - the second and third years in Section 1, the fourth and fifth years in Section 2, and the sixth and seventh years in Section 3. Each section would host a session of duels and eventually ended up with one champion.

Blaise grimaced slightly to himself as to having to face Draco Malfoy as opponent on this year's first duel. He'd heard that Malfoy had been getting dueling lessons at home since eleven, and from previous years' observations, he knew Malfoy was _really_ good at dueling. Blaise wasn't a bad at it himself, but he wasn't delusional enough to not take Malfoy as a strong opponent.

"Worried?" Beside him, Theodore Nott asked, sounding totally casual and conversational.

"Should I be?" Blaise drawled, leaning against the sofa lazily, but eyed Nott speculatively, wondering if he could gain any information about Malfoy from Malfoy's supposedly childhood best friend.

Nott shrugged, a small smirk tugging on his lips, "I daren't presume."

Blaise continued to look at Nott intently, before saying, "Well, I'd thought you know him well?"

"I do," Nott agreed, and Blaise could hear there was a hint of a smile in his voice, "but I won't pretend to know _you_ that well."

 _But you're pretending to be more clueless, more innocuous than you really are_ , Blaise thought. Outwardly, he shrugged noncommittally, "Perhaps." He paused a bit, "Are you worried? About _your_ duel?"

Blaise knew that Nott would be facing Pansy in his first duel. Despite all her sweetness on the surface, they both knew how ruthless Pansy Parkinson could be, too. Blaise also knew for a fact that Pansy's secret Gryffindor girlfriend, Hermione Granger, had been training her. He wasn't sure if Nott knew this, though.

"Should I be?" Nott echoed Blaise's earlier words, his voice carefully neutral. Blaise wondered if Nott was fishing for information. Pansy had always been closer to Blaise than to the rest of the boys. After a quick contemplation, he decided on his answer.

"If you think it'll help," Blaise smirked.

"Well, it's _just_ Pansy, isn't it?" Nott drawled, sounding nonchalant, and perhaps a little arrogant. But, somehow, Blaise felt that the word 'just' sounded a bit off, the tone of it was … not what Blaise was expecting. He couldn't exactly figure out what felt wrong, though.

"Hmm," Blaise replied, which sounded like an answer, but really wasn't an answer at all. Then again, the original question _sounded_ like a rhetorical question anyway.

Nott laughed, his voice musical. "Well, as fun as chatting with you is, I have to meet up Granger for the Herbology assignment due next week. See you later."

Blaise narrowed his eyes calculatingly for a moment – he hadn't noticed that Granger was Nott's Herbology partner. He wondered, briefly, if there was any chance that Nott knew about Pansy and Granger from the Gryffindor. Highly unlikely. But not _entirely_ impossible.

If _he knows this, how much does he knew about_ everyone's _secrets?_ Blaise wondered.

 

* * *

 

Theo watched Zabini's expression turned sharp and suspecting for a moment after he mentioned Granger before quickly smoothing back to his usual calmness, "See you."

 _So it's true,_ Theo thought as he turned to leave.

Last week, just before he met up Granger, he'd heard Granger and Weasley arguing. From the gist, Theo had gathered that Weasley had accused Granger of fraternizing with enemies, and there were also words like 'how could you, Mione? That Slytherin bitch?' thrown around.

Theo hadn't really noticed that any of his fellow Slytherins were fraternizing (or more) with Granger, though he had to admit with the considering they were Slytherins and Gryffindors, it wasn't surprising that whoever it was kept this a secret.

He'd observed Weasley glaring a few times in the direction of Pansy and Daphne, so Theo suspected that it was probably one of them. And if he had to bet, he'd picked Pansy. Still, he didn't know how truthful this overheard conversation was, maybe it'd been nothing at all.

But he suspected that if one person might know, it could just be Blaise Zabini. And the way Zabini skillfully avoided giving a direct answer after he asked "it's _just_ Pansy, isn't it?" – Well, the avoidance might not be intended, and maybe Theo was being paranoid, but it _didn't_ mean that he _couldn't_ be right.

And after Theo dropped Granger's name casually, Zabini's reaction only confirmed more of Theo's suspicions. Theo realized instantly – instinctively – that Zabini was trying to figure out if he knew something about Granger. Something highly likely to do with the conversation they just had.

Something was definitely going on with Pansy and Granger. He wasn't exactly sure what, perhaps they just an alliance, perhaps they were trading favors, teaching each other something, perhaps they were secretly dating. Perhaps Pansy was paying Granger to tutor her in dueling.

Theo knew better than to underestimate Hermione Granger, despite her lack of magical heritage. If Pansy was indeed getting lessons from her – and from his little chat with Zabini, Theo now very much suspected she was – then winning against her would definitely be harder than he originally predicted.

He loved a good challenge, but he was also one who liked to research thoroughly before rushing headfirst into it.

 

* * *

 

Blaise spent the next few days practicing different spells and diving into his pensive of past few year's memories of the dueling to study Malfoy's moves. While it was true that Malfoy probably learned more spells this year, it was at least useful to study his habits and style. Plus, he might be able to deduce from the spells Malfoy had used, that what types of spells he might be learning, what kind of books his tutor was probably teaching from, and make guesses about what new spells he might've learned.

As usual, the plan was easier said than done. Still, he tried his best in combing out the useful information, something he'd always been good at. He just wished he didn't have to duel Malfoy for the first duel, then he would've been able to observe Malfoy's more recent skills.

 

* * *

 

The day of the duel came.

Draco strode confidently onto the platform for dueling as the other students gathered around excitedly for the first duel of the Section. He glanced over at his opponent. Zabini was wearing his usual guarded, cool expression, his face betraying nothing.

 _Still, if he wasn't nervous, he wouldn't look so guarded,_ Draco mused as he flashed a only slightly taunting grin at Zabini, "Blaise."

Zabini raised one eyebrow almost imperceptibly, as he returned the greeting with a cool, polite smile, "Draco."

The duel began as their referee Adrian Pucey called out, "Three, two, one – start!"

 

* * *

 

Five minutes into the duel, Draco concluded that Zabini was actually pretty good at dueling – though still below his own level, as Draco was only using approximately 70% of his effort and he was certain Zabini was using more than that. Using only partial efforts gave him some chance to absorb more and file away information for future use, plus, Draco had always found it kind of fun to toy a bit with your opponent before upping to like maybe, 95% of the effort and finishing the opponent off.

Around the seven minute, Zabini suddenly made a – in Draco's opinion – really amateur mistake, and Draco decided that it was probably time to end this and catch the chance to easily disarm him. The crowd applauded and Draco turned to face them, smirking triumphantly, Zabini's wand in hand. When he turned back to look at Zabini, he found the other boy looking slightly angry at his own misstep and Draco's smirk widened slightly. "Better luck next time," he offered insincerely as he handed Zabini's wand back to him, knowing luck probably wouldn't be enough.

Zabini composed his expression back into his usual calm expressionless, and replied, "Thanks."

Draco turned to walk down the platform, missing some speculative frowns from the upper years of the crowds, Theo Nott furrowing his eyebrow as if trying to figure something out, and Blaise Zabini gazing at his back in an almost calculative manner.

 

* * *

 

Theo's first thought, of Zabini's misstep that led him to the defeat, was that it was _too_ amateur a mistake. Especially for someone as careful as Blaise Zabini.

Then he noticed Zabini's cool expression when Draco had won and had turned to wave at the crowds. It was almost as if he'd been … expecting it. It was only when 10 seconds later, when Draco turned back to give Zabini's wand back, that he seemed to look slightly angry at himself. An expression which disappeared almost instantly when Draco turned away again, so quick that Theo wondered if anyone noticed it.

In the afternoon, he'd already heard some rumors from the upper years, suspecting that Draco had bribed Zabini to let him win. People were talking about how the two of them seemed quite matched in skills – Theo suspected that _neither_ of them had been using full efforts from start, though – and how Zabini's mistake seemed a little too … _deliberate_.

Theo thought he knew Draco. He didn't really think Draco would bribe Zabini this way, not really. Not Draco, who was always so confident. Not Draco, who he'd known since three. But of course, the confidence could be feigned and if he did indeed bribed Zabini, it would make sense to feign more confidence …. Still, Theo didn't think Draco would do this.

He was, like, almost 87% sure.

In the next morning he'd heard that Millie and Tracey seemed to have similar suspicions as some of the upper years, and Millie even bluntly asked Zabini about it. According to Tracey, who'd been there as Millie asked the question, Zabini hesitated for just a moment, before _very firmly_ saying no, that Malfoy didn't bribe him whatsoever. He'd lost the duel by himself because he'd made a stupid move.

The hesitation and the way he tried to convince them, apparently had the opposite effect because now Tracey and Millie were firmly convinced that Zabini was lying to them, probably covering up for Malfoy because it was part of the agreement.

Conspiracies were running all around.

Theo thought that would've probably been inclined to believe the rumors if he wasn't hurt by Draco not telling him this – he'd thought they were _best friends_ , or something.

Draco had widened his eyes in shock when he'd first heard the rumor when Theo confronted him about this. "Of course I didn't – what, do you think I _need_ to? Really, Theo?" He actually looked a bit hurt at that. "What, is this what Zabini is saying?"

"No," Theo replied, "he denied it when asked. And I've heard that quite a few people had asked him." _But everyone seemed to interpret his hesitance and then vehement denial to be lying._

"Then what's the problem?" Draco asked angrily. "Oh, did this rumor come from the upper years?"

"Yeah, seems so," Theo said delicately, deciding not to tell Draco that _he_ 'd suspected something wrong from the moment Zabini lost as well.

"I bet it's Warrington and Bletchley," Draco muttered furiously. "Their families never got along with mine. They probably couldn't believe I have the ability to win the duel on my own and have to use money to bribe my opponent. Besides, does everyone really think _Blaise Zabini_ is someone that could be bribed with money? Doesn't everyone know who his _mother_ is?"

 _That, was actually quite a valid point,_ Theo thought. _Though some might start to think in the direction that you threatened him off with Malfoy family influence if you didn't actually use money to resolve this._

Still, Theo knew Draco. Draco was good at lying, sure, but Theo had known him for over 10 years. Draco might be able to lie to everyone else, but Theo didn't think Draco could fool him as well. At least, he _hoped_.

 _Speaking of lying …_ Theo stilled suddenly. _Oh Merlin. Of **course** – the answer had been plain and evident all along!_

He'd seen Zabini lie flawlessly, skillfully on some occasions during the past few years. He probably wouldn't notice it if he hadn't known what the truth had been through some other means.

Zabini lied flawlessly. That was a _fact_. If he'd wanted to lie …

… people would be _believing_ it. _Not_ suspecting he'd been covering up for Draco. Not been suspecting that Zabini was actually going to win but only deliberately made a mistake because Draco had bribed him.

"Draco," Theo said, sharply, "answer me this – do you think, you would've eventually won, without him making the mistake? Assuming he continued as before the … misstep?"

"Yeah, sure," Draco said impatiently. "I was using probably only 60 to 70% of the effort then. He'd stood no chance if I want to finish him quickly."

 _Of course, but the crowd probably didn't knew that. Most people probably thought your skill levels were similar._ Theo thought. And Zabini might not been as on par as with Draco's dueling skills, but Theo knew for one Zabini was more observant than most, even by Slytherin standards. And he'd been so much closer at that time and being actually involved, experiencing first hand.

Draco might excel at dueling, but he didn't always play the power games nearly as well.

 _Well, that was actually pretty fucking clever_ , Theo thought, closing his eyes briefly. "Hmm, I guess the rumors would die down soon," he said, placatingly. "I need to go now, got an assignment to finish." It was a lie, more like, he got a person to confront.

Draco waved goodbye at him as Theo left.

 

* * *

 

"Draco did not bribe you to let him win, did he?" Nott asked accusingly, glaring at him.

Blaise looked up at Nott mildly, inserting the calculated amount of hesitance and unsureness, before saying a bit irritably, "Of course he didn't. I kept telling you everyone that, could you guys just _stop asking_ this stupid question?"

Nott narrowed his eyes coldly, "Well, that's because people are suspecting you're _lying_."

"And that's my fault?" Blaise raised an eyebrow at him. "I've been telling the truth all along."

"Yes," Nott bit out. "Yes, it's your fault. It's your fault when you _acted_ like you're lying when you're actually telling the truth!"

 _So he figured it out._ Blaise thought, slightly impressed.

"You knew you're going to lose, didn't you?" It wasn't a question, more like an accusation, they were both aware of it.

Blaise regarded Nott coolly, "What do you want? Malfoy won, and I never made a false accusation against him either."

Nott stared at him for a moment, "So you admit to – to –"

"Is that so? Have I admit to anything yet?" Blaise cut across Nott smoothly, a smirk in his voice, but they both knew that his secret was out, even if it wasn't said out loud. "I just stated some facts. Malfoy won, and I never made a false accusation against him either."

"You're an arse," Nott muttered.

Blaise just shrugged, "C'mon, we all fight to win in different ways. We're Slytherins. The rumors will die down soon enough, when people find more interesting stuff to talk about."

It was true enough, though Nott still looked quite rankled.

"You haven't told anyone yet, have you?" Blaise smirked.

Nott glared back defiantly. "Maybe I have."

Blaise's smirk broadened, "Oh, _Theo_ , I don't think you have." He leant closer to him, "Keep my secret for me? If you swear an oath to, I'll tell you what I know about what special spells Pansy's secret tutor been teaching her."

"Is it Granger?" Nott asked instinctively.

"Ah, so you did know," Blaise murmured, sounding just a little appreciative. "I was wondering, I admit."

"I'm rather good at figuring out stuff," Nott said drily.

"So I've realized," Blaise said with a hint of a smile.

"Wait – what you _know_ of Granger's been teaching Pansy," Nott suddenly said, repeating his earlier words with suspicion. "Technically, I could've sworn an oath, and you could've tell me you know _nothing_ , and –" he broke off when he saw Blaise's grin.

"Ah, I was wondering if you'd catch that," Blaise laughed. "Clever, really. I do like you, Theodore Nott."

"The feeling is definitely not mutual."

"Pity, really."

"I could find out on my own," Nott said coldly. "Plus, I'm still doubting whether you had any actual useful information about them or not. You could just be bluffing."

"Mmm, probably," Blaise agreed easily, and before Nott could react, he whipped out his wand and directed it at Nott.

 

* * *

 

Theo immediately reached out for his own wand as well, before realizing that Zabini had very subtly stole it away from him when he was busily accusing him. His eyes widened.

"Pity, really," Zabini repeated, sounding a little wistful this time. "I'd hate to obliviate the one person clever enough to figure things out, leaving no one to appreciate the ingenuity of my plan."

Theo knew he should be worried, and he should be trying to negotiate again, but the first thought that came to his mind was, _Oh Merlin, why is he so fucking arrogant?_

"I figured it out once," Theo reminded Zabini coolly, "what's to say I won't figure it out again?"

"True," Zabini murmured. "But that's from a collective knowledge of other people's talks and your own observations on me, and after this, you'll only have the former left."

Theo stilled, knowing Zabini was right. If Zabini was also going to obliviate Theo's knowledge of how well he could lie … "Let's talk about Pansy and Granger again," he said.

Zabini grinned at him, a predatory, taunting grin, "Pansy and Granger? Well, to be honest, you're right, I _don't_ actually know anything about what Granger's teaching her. So … sorry about this, but … _Obliviate._ "

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr: ff-sunset-oasis.tumblr.com


End file.
